When do videos go viral?

I think that most of the reason videos go viral and are sent from person to person because they take us away from our daily routines. Viral videos provide us with a break and a much needed one in most cases.

The most common viral videos are funny, but they don’t all have to be funny. Some sort of emotion or reaction is necessary, but it doesn’t always have to be laughter. Sometimes there is a shock value, sometimes there is laughter, it all depends.

There is no doubt that in order for a video to go viral it needs to be entertaining. If we are going to take that much needed break, we want it to be worth it. We want to enjoy the time we spent taking that break. So, if the video is entertaining than perfect, it was time well spent.

Comedy is probably the easiest way to reach our demand for amusement and entertainment value. Take for instance the YouTube video with the two baby brothers. The younger brother, Charlie, bites the older brother’s finger and the dialogue thereafter is hysterical. It is simple, but hilarious. Capturing this moment of two innocent children reacting to one another is priceless and absolutely amusing.

Presentation is also important. The video doesn’t have to be of great quality or even look polished. But some videos are amusing for the presentation alone. For example, there is a viral video that involved a lot of stop motion with a woman laying in a bed. In the bed, she moves, the sheets moves and new objects enter into all these different scenes which make you think about how it was created.

The ability to relate the video to yourself and your own experiences is also another important factor in creating a viral video. The YouTube wedding dance video took off because it is funny and unique, but also because everyone can relate to weddings.

I have never been to a wedding where that happened, but I was in one that involved a lot of comical dancing from the wedding party while entering the reception hall. The bride and groom entered to Everybody in the club getting tipsy,” and they were fisting champagne bottles. It was priceless and I can relate to the YouTube video.

The last characteristic of a viral video is not necessary, but recommended. It has to be short. Videos need to be brief in most cases because we just don’t have the attention span to watch lengthy videos.

The more characteristics a video has, the better chance it has of being viral.

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